Then Aunt Annie Put a Linen Napkin on her Head
My 92 year old aunt told me last night that she remembered from her childhood, when her grandmother was still alive, spying around the corner in the living room when The Reverend Samuel Lindsay came to the house. He was sitting with her grandmother, her father's sister, having some kind of religious discussion. All the women had donned their special head coverings, because that was the Brethren rule - women covered their heads when praying or in church. My aunt was curious because there were two world-views in the house. Officially it was a Brethren household, but her mother Ruth had been Methodist before my grandpa got her pregnant, so there was a down-low rebel camp in the house. From her hiding placeg, my aunt was watching that old world in action.
Her Aunt Anna came through the back, not realizing Mr. Lindsay was there. Before she went and sat in the livingroom, instead of going upstairs and hunting up her head covering, she went to the cupboard, got out a fancy dinner napkin, draped her head and went to join the worship. Anna was perfectly devout, so this was not part of the secret rebellion. The cover itself must not have been the important part, but the act of covering before approaching your God was.
Her Aunt Anna came through the back, not realizing Mr. Lindsay was there. Before she went and sat in the livingroom, instead of going upstairs and hunting up her head covering, she went to the cupboard, got out a fancy dinner napkin, draped her head and went to join the worship. Anna was perfectly devout, so this was not part of the secret rebellion. The cover itself must not have been the important part, but the act of covering before approaching your God was.